1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a table game system using game media such as cards and roulettes, and more particularly, to a table game system that can perform a table game by using a storage card in which valuable information is stored.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, card games of playing cards (for example, baccarat game) and table games, such as a roulette game using a roulette, are widely known as casino games.
Recently, as for a system for supporting such table games, for example, a technique has been proposed that installs a plurality of terminals (hereinafter referred to as “the player terminals”) used by game players at positions distant from a table (hereinafter referred to as “the dealer's game table”) for a dealer to perform dealing, opening, and the like of cards, and delivers the images of the cards captured by a video camera to the player terminals (refer to Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2005-168664). With such a table game system, it is possible for a large number of game players to participate in a game at the same time that is played on the dealer's game table.
Additionally, in the field of game device that allows playing of a game provided that money such as bills and coins are paid, the card system is widely used that allows playing of a game by using a recording card in which information regarding money (hereinafter referred to as “the money information”) is stored in advance (refer to Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. HEI10-500796).
That is, when the card system as described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. HEI10-500796 is applied to the table game system described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2005-168664, it is not necessary for the game player to, for example, insert money into the player terminal or the like every time the game player places a bet, by inserting the recording card into a card reading device that is provided to correspond to the player terminal. Thus, it is possible to continuously and smoothly perform the table game within the money information stored in the recording card.
Here, in the card reading device described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. HEI10-500796, when the game player inserts the recording card into the card reading device, the recording card remains received in the card reading device until an adjustment button is operated. Hence, when the game player wishes to newly start playing of a game in another game device instead of the game device currently used, it is necessary to eject the recording card by operating the adjustment button. Thus, there is a disadvantage in that such an operation is cumbersome.
Additionally, in the card reading device described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. HEI10-500796, the money information is stored in the recording card when ejecting the recording card. Such recording is a process that is not always required in the case where the game player starts playing of the game in another game device instead of the game device already used, that is, in the case where the game player does not wish to adjust the recording card. For this reason, when the game player wishes to immediately play the game in another game device, it is necessary for the game player to wait until the recording card is ejected after operating the adjustment button, resulting in great stress for the game player.
Further, in the card reading device described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. HEI10-500796, when the game player stats playing the game by inserting the recording card, the money information is stored/updated in a memory provided inside the card reading device in accordance with the game result. That is, in a card system described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. HEI10-500796, management of the money information of the game player is performed by each card reading device. Hence, it is impossible for a house to recognize information related to the money information (for example, an increase and/or decrease in the amount of money), information related to sales, and the like on a real-time basis. Thus, there is a problem in that the house cannot collectively manage such kinds of information.
Suppose when the card reading device is broken while the game player is obtaining a favorable game result, the benefit to be offered to the game player is not stored in the memory of the card reading device, resulting in a disadvantage that the game player suffers a loss.
In addition, it is necessary to provide a memory for storing/updating the money information for each card reading device. Hence, there is a problem in that the cost is increased when building a game system.